Revis Saga: No Matter What Happens, The Jets Will Win

By Corey Griffin | Jan 30, 2013 | 3:02PM

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The Darrelle Revis situation is at once the most understandable, ridiculous and thoroughly frustrating scenario the Jets and their fans have had to go through in the past 12 months. That’s saying something.

But to understand this situation, we have to look back at 12 months’ worth of poor decisions and strange fascinations that got the Jets in this spot in the first place and why the man that made those decisions could not have solved the Revis problem.

From hiring Tony Sparano as the one to take Mark Sanchez to the next level by taking the ball out of his hands (think about that) to then extending Sanchez for millions of guaranteed dollars and trading for Tim Tebow, it was a strange offseason. Made even weirder by Rex Ryan calling the talent-deficient roster possibly the best team he’s had since he came to New York (ego boost, anyone?) and proceeding to watch said team collapse in on itself, betrayed by, guess what – a lack of talent, particularly at quarterback.

There was the buttfumble – the moment that will forever capture the 2012 Jets – and the brief love affair with Greg McElroy, all while the healthy-but-not-enough-to-play Tebow sat and watched. Six different wide receivers started a game this season, while nine caught passes from three different quarterbacks. A team that based itself on ground and pound was outrushed by its opponents nine times while the defense allowed the seventh-most rushing yards in the league.

It was a circus, complete with the New York Post back page cover. And it all – along with many, many more stories, stats and stupor-inducing snapshots – got general manager Mike Tannenabum fired.

Which brings us back to Revis’ contract. A contract negotiated by Tannenbaum to be a “stop-gap” deal (or whatever language you choose to use) until the parties could negotiate a true “lifetime contract” for arguably the best cornerback since the greatest cornerback ever. That never happened – partly due to burnt bridges on both sides, partly due to the Jets finally having leverage over Revis.

What the Jets do with Revis all trails back to Tannenbaum. He drafted him. He helped hire a staff that cultivated Revis’ talent. He negotiated a contract through an extremely contentious process that alienated Revis’ agents and probably partly Revis, too. But the Jets could not have gotten out of this situation if Tannenabum were still in place. There needed to be a new voice on the phone to other teams, in negotiations with Revis’ agents and in the meeting rooms where the Jets will ultimately decide what to do with their franchise player.

Understandable

The fact that the Jets are exploring, did explore or will explore trading Revis should surprise no one. He’s one season away from enacting an opt-out clause and becoming an unrestricted free agent. The Jets can’t use the franchise tag on him and he’s thought to want the most expensive contract for a defensive player in the history of the NFL. He’s also coming off an ACL injury, but the perception of players returning from that injury was forever altered by Adrian Peterson’s recovery. While normally teams would be reluctant – or at least knock down their off – to trade for a player rehabbing an ACL injury, recent history has shown that players can not only come back but still be the dominant force they were before the injury.

The Jets, meanwhile, are in awful shape. They have almost no leverage outside of the injury, although Revis’ agents will use Peterson’s recovery in contract talks as much as the Jets will in trade talks. They have a roster devoid of talent in almost every personnel group, especially at the offensive skill positions. The one strength they do have is at cornerback. When Revis went down, Antonio Cromartie elevated his game to an elite level and became a special player for most of the season. Cromartie also has a reasonable contract with two years left on it, but assuming a good year next year, you can put your money on Cromartie holding out entering 2014 training camp unless he gets paid. That means you are looking at having to pay two Pro Bowl cornerbacks within the next calendar year – something a team that needs to spread out its defense-heavy salary cap throughout the roster cannot do.

All of this with a new GM in charge. No GM gets hired without the previous GM leaving the roster in rough shape, be it through financial means or by lack of talent. For the Jets, it’s a bit of both, although the financial fix is a much quicker one and should be under control entering next offseason. John Idzik’s job then, as any new GM does, is to evaluate the entire roster from top (Revis) to bottom (Sanchez – HAH!). He must decipher which players are worth paying and which are not and measure that against the current NFL landscape, while also keeping an eye on which players are on the come or will need to paid within that GM’s immediate tenure. Everyone, except for Mo Wilkerson, Quinton Coples and Nick Mangold should be up for trade and if someone calls asking, then Idzik should, and likely will, pick up and hear them out. But he will do so with the idea in mind that he is not just trying to build the league’s best defense as it feels like they’ve done in the Rex era. Idzik’s job is to build a complete team and if you can free up $16 million in future salary, plus untold annual bonus cash, while also landing multiple high-value assets in the process, then that’s something ANY new GM would consider.

Ridiculous

Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in football right now and the best cornerback since Deion Sanders, although Charles Woodson fans might have a fair argument. His 2009 season is the stuff of legend and there are a lot of people who, rightfully so, cringe at the thought of him finishing his career in another jersey. How do you replace a guy like Revis? Some would argue the Jets did just fine this year, with a combination of Antonio Cromartie stepping up, improved safety play and solid efforts from guys like Isaiah Trufant and Ellis Lankster (No, not you Kyle Wilson. No, I mean it -- sit down, Kyle!).

To that, I say – there is no replacing Darrelle Revis. You can guard against his absence for stretches and you can mix and match players depending on the matchup (Trufant vs. Welker), but in the end, there is no accounting for his absolute dominance on one side of the field. Cromartie played fantastic this year, but if he is the only cornerback next year and it’s Wilson, Trufant or Lankster opposite him, guess who teams are going to throw at? Yeah – exactly. And that’s assuming one side of the field is locked down and unapproachable. Would anyone dare to say that Cromartie shut down one side of the field on a weekly basis this season? Of course not. As good as his year was, it wasn’t Revis. Teams could still throw on him and they did – sometimes to a good amount of success.

If you’re going to only pay one cornerback a hefty sum, then it should be the one who you can absolutely count on to eliminate one of the team’s best receivers without question. Going forward, the Jets won’t have a guy like LaRon Landry this season, which will hurt the secondary, particularly a secondary where both cornerbacks need support at times. With Revis, one side of the field or one player is taken care of for most of the game. That allows the Jets to mix and match their coverages and have the safeties support the secondary and/or nickel cornerback and vice versa. With Revis in tow, you can use essentially three to four player to cover the other half of the field. As we saw from 2008 to 2011, that’s a huge advantage that makes Rex’s defense and his pass rush much better – just ask opposing quarterbacks.

The final difference between Revis and the other cornerbacks in the league, particularly on the Jets, is there is no “type” that Revis covers best. We’ve seen him shut down everyone from Terrell Owens, Andre Johnson and Roddy White to smaller guys like Wes Welker and Stevie Johnson. Hell, the Jets even used him on Aaron Hernandez and occasionally Rob Gronkowski. He is the most versatile defender on the field while also being the best defender on the field. Think about that. Cromartie, on the other hand, struggles greatly against smaller, quick receivers that need to be jammed at the line of scrimmage. He has a “type” that he does best against. The taller, more athletic types that get down the field are his specialty. That’s why you would often see Cromartie cover the downfield threat while Revis would match up against Welker or whomever that week. There is no replacing Revis. Not with Cromartie, a draft pick or a scheme. You can get by for a time, but eventually, your defense will suffer and teams will pick at your holes.

Frustrating

Do those last two sections feel like contradictions to you? That’s because they kind of are, but they’re also the two sides to this argument. When a team is faced with dealing a player on the level of Revis, there’s never a clear answer. The Steelers could get away with trading Santonio Holmes because the positives of getting rid of him were pretty much on par with the negatives of losing him. The same goes for Antonio Cromartie and the Chargers. It made sense for those teams to deal those players. For the Jets, you are trading a once-in-a-generation player who is due a massive payday from a team whose entire defense is based around that player’s skillset. It sucks and there’s no getting around that.

When this is all said and done, there will be people on both sides that scream about how bad of a deal this is for the Jets and there will eventually be people on one side that crows about how the Jets should have kept him or should have dumped him. Parts of the NFL media corps will shred the Jets if they trade Revis for not sticking by their franchise player, for sending a bad message to future Jets that the organization doesn’t value loyalty. If they keep Revis, parts of the NFL media corps will count beans and pennies and salary cap space and point to how no team in this year’s conference title games had any corner with the talent or the paycheck of a newly signed Revis.

And in the end, neither side will be wrong. This is an issue that divides both sides and there will be positives and negatives no matter what happens. The only winner in this entire situation is the Jets. No matter whether they keep Revis or trade him, the Jets win. They win because they drafted and developed a player into a premier asset and they have two choices. They can either cash that asset in and reap the rewards in terms of draft picks and cheap young talent, or they can sign him and enjoy five years of having the most dominant secondary player in two decades on their side. And that would not have been the case with Mike Tannenbaum still in place.

John Idzik has an advantage Mike Tannenbaum never would have had -- time.

If Mike T were still in charge, the entire situation would be negatively charged from the beginning. Much like lame-duck coaches tend to coach differently in a year they’re trying to save their jobs, so do lame-duck general managers. If Mike T had stayed, he would have been in a desperate situation, managing to put together a team that would preserve his lifespan as Jets GM for another year. Do you think he’d be looking for the best deal for the Jets for the next five to seven years? No, he would have been looking for the best deal (trade or contract) for the 2013 Jets, because the 2013 Jets are the ones that will decide whether he gets to keep his job.

If Mike T ended up choosing the contract route, he would have been negotiating from a weaker stance. Revis’ agents would have known he was desperate to keep his job. They would have driven as hard a bargain as possible, knowing that Tannenbaum had made the decision he had to keep Revis. Plus there’s already an aura of bad blood that would have put the Jets behind the proverbial 8-ball from before legit contract talks even began.

If Mike T went the trade route, he likely would have done so while those frustrating contract negotiations with Revis’ agents were floundering, putting him out of the ledge in league circles. People talk about how the Jets have lost leverage in trade talks now, but how do you think their leverage would have been if a desperate Mike T was the one making the phone calls?

With a new general manager in place, the Jets are starting from ground zero in both aspects. John Idzik doesn’t have to show any loyalty to Revis or his agents because he’s never dealt with them. Whatever bad blood there might be is between the agents and Woody, but a good GM and a good contract negotiator (which is Idzik’s specialty) keeps that out of the board room. In league circles, Idzik is evaluating which trade would help him for the next four or five years because he knows he doesn’t have to deliver a playoff team in year one. Just by hiring a new GM, the Jets have regained as much of the leverage as they possible could have in this situation.

In the end, Idzik will talk contract with Revis’ agents. At the same time, he’ll talk trade with other general managers and he’ll choose whichever option best suits his long-term vision for the club. Whether Revis stays or Revis goes, the Jets will win because Idzik will be negotiating from even ground instead of Mike T feeling like the weight of the world is on top of him.

And they never could have gotten here if the last 12 months hadn’t been such a mess.

Jets-49ers Week 14 Game Preview

SNY NFL Insider Ralph Vacchiano feels the Jets need to keep Bryce Petty under control and let Matt Forte lead the attack against the 49ers.

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV:

THE GAME: The Jets (3-9) at the San Francisco 49ers (1-11) at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 4:05 p.m. ET.

THE WEATHER: After a few days of rain in the bay area -- which should do wonders for the generally bad field there -- it looks like things will be dry on game day. But it'll be cloudy with temperatures in the upper 50s or maybe around 60 with light winds.

WHAT IT MEANS: Yawn. … Oh, sorry, what was the question? Right, the meaning of this game. Well, it's mostly about draft order, I guess. Currently, the 49ers are picking second and the Jets are picking fourth or fifth. A win and the Jets put themselves in danger of slipping closer to the bottom of the Top 10. A loss, though, and they've got some potential for a Top 3 pick if things break right. Or wrong. Whatever. Also, I suppose this game has meaning if you're on the Todd Bowles Watch.

FNNY presented by Jeep: Common for NFL players to not remember games?

12:20AM

The FNNY panel touches on the report that Brandon Marshall told the Daily News he doesn't remember scoring three touchdowns in a 2014 game.

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GEICO SportsNite: Jets place Nick Mangold on season-ending IR

12:06AM

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GEICO SportsNite: Mangold to IR00:01:25

Willie Colon comments on Nick Mangold's career after the Jets placed him on injured reserve.

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Wilkerson says 'tighter coverage' would have led to more sacks

Dec 8 | 7:30PM

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New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) celebrates a sack with teammates during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan) (Peter Morgan/AP)

Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson responded "maybe a little tighter coverage and we get those sacks" when asked why New York was held to one sack in their 41-10 loss to the Colts Monday.

Fitzpatrick to serve as backup QB behind Petty

Dec 6 | 4:55PM

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will serve as New York's backup quarterback for the remainder of the season, while rookie QB Christian Hackenberg will not play unless starting QB Bryce Petty suffers an injury, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Tuesday.

Bowles named Petty the starting quarterback following Monday night's embarrassing 41-10 loss to the Colts, relegating Fitzpatrick to the backup role.

When asked if the rookie quarterback would see any playing time this season, Bowles was quick to say only an injury would lead to Hackenberg taking the field.

TJB Post Game Podcast: Bryce Petty and the Heartbreakers

Dec 6 | 3:59PM

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The Jets are free fallin, while Corey Griffin and Brian Bassett have their green hearts broken and are at a loss for answers. But they do find your voicemails…and talk about Bryce Petty, Todd Bowles, an uncertain future, and a nifty play by the pylon.

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Jets waive C.J. Spiller and Jeremy Ross

Dec 6 | 3:10PM

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New York Jets receiver Jeremy Ross (10) returns a kick-off against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. (Charles LeClaire)

New York also announced the signing of WR Darius Jennings to the practice squad, who will take the place of WR Mario Alford, who has been released.

Spiller signed with the Jets on Nov. 2 after playing two games for Seattle. Spiller appeared in four games with the Jets, returning five kickoffs for an average of 19.1 yards per return, along with recording three rushes and one reception on offense.

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BGA: Insight and analysis from Week 13

By Bent | Dec 6 | 12:15PM

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(Ed Mulholland)

The Jets were crushed by the Colts, 41-10, on Monday night at MetLife Stadium as they fell to 3-9 on the season. Bryce Petty replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick during the game and will be the starter for the remainder of the season. Here's insight and analysis regarding the Jets' awful Monday night performance...

Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick's performance speaks for itself. He only completed one pass beyond the first down marker, had a completion percentage below 50 percent, and punctuated his performance with an interception on the kind of forced throw he's been unable to get away with all season.

Bowles names Petty starting quarterback for remainder of season

Dec 6 | 12:08AM

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles named Bryce Petty the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, barring injury, after he replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick midway through Monday's 41-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Bowles said he planned to name Petty the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the year regardless of what happened Monday, adding that Fitzpatrick's ineffectiveness -- 5-for-12, 81 yards, no touchdowns and one interception -- in the loss to the Colts did not factor into the decision.

Petty completed 11 of 25 passes for 135 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions as he replaced Fitzpatrick for the second half, entering a 31-3 game.

Dec 5 | 11:46PM

Andrew Luck was nearly perfect in his return from a concussion, throwing for four touchdowns, three to Dwayne Allen, in the Indianapolis Colts' 41-10 romp Monday night past the inept New York Jets.

Not that Luck had to work very hard against the hosts, who were booed by a much-less-than-filled MetLife Stadium almost from the outset.

Luck missed last week's loss to Pittsburgh, cleared the NFL's concussion protocol on the weekend, and came back in style with a prime-time performance. He lifted Indianapolis (6-6) into a tie for the lead in the AFC South with Tennessee and Houston.

A witness said an argument took place between McKnight and the shooter before the shooter opened fire multiple times.

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What did you think about the Jets' game?

Dec 5 | 11:15PM

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We want to hear from you! What did you think of today's Jets game?

Record a reaction or question about the game, which may be used during TheJetsBlog Post Game Podcast, call 1 (831) 769-6387 or use this to record a message (please remember to leave your name and city):

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles benched starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of backup Bryce Petty for the second half of Monday's game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium.

Fitzpatrick completed 5 of 12 passes for 81 yards with an interception and a 30.2 passer rating as the Jets trailed 24-3 at halftime.

Petty is making his first game appearance since Week 10, a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which he went 19-for-32 with 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jets honor Joe McKnight with pregame moment of silence

Dec 6 | 7:16AM

New York Jets running back Joe McKnight walks back to the locker room following practice at SUNY Cortland. (Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE)

The New York Jets have held a moment of silence before their game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium to honor former running back Joe McKnight, killed last Thursday in Louisiana.

Authorities said McKnight, 28, was shot during a road rage incident that was possibly sparked by a driver cutting off another on a nearby bridge in Terrytown, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. The shooter was identified by police as Ronald Gasser, 54, and he was released overnight, drawing criticism.

McKnight was rated the nation's No. 1 running back recruit when he came out of Louisiana in 2006 and signed with the University of Southern California. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Jets in 2010 and played three seasons for New York. He spent a season with Kansas City, and most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Petty started against the Rams in Week 10 when Ryan Fitzpatrick was out with an injury, and completed 19 of 32 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It was the first, and so far the only, start of his career.

While some have questioned why Todd Bowles has not given the young quarterback more opportunities to prove himself, many believe it is because Petty has simply not shown enough during practice to earn the starting job.

During the season, Bent's Game Analysis charts games for some of the New York Jets' upcoming opponents, enabling a breakdown of what to watch out for on game day…

This week's Monday Night Football will see the Jets hosting the 5-6 Indianapolis Colts. Despite having endured a disappointing year so far, the Colts were just one game out of first place in the AFC South entering this weekend. The Colts have lost three of their last four games, albeit to three potential playoff teams in Green Bay, Kansas City and Pittsburgh. The teams met early last year with the Jets defeating the Colts 20-7, again on Monday Night Football, in one of the best performances of the Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan era.

TheJetsBlog Podcast: Are the Jets Better Off Today?

Dec 4 | 11:54AM

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Brian Bassett welcomes Brian Costello of the New York Post to the podcast, and they take a deep dive into the question of whether or not the Jets are better off today than the day when Woody Johnson flipped the switch from the John Idzik/Rex Ryan regime, to the current Mike Maccagnan/Todd Bowles duo. Later, SNY NFL Insider Ralph Vacchiano joins the show to talk about his Thursday conversation with Darrelle Revis at Florham Park, and to share his thoughts on Revis' future with the Jets.

Jets future up in the air for Revis, who wants to play in 2017

Darrelle Revis has made it pretty clear that he intends to play in 2017, telling SNY "I still have a lot of football to play." He even thinks he can still play football at a high level.

But at what position? And for whom? Neither of those answers are clear just yet. And though it's certainly possible that the Jets will simply part ways with the greatest cornerback they've ever had, a team source insisted not to rule Revis out of the Jets' 2017 plans just yet.

TJB Roundtable: Looking on the bright side

Maybe it is just me, but it seems like the Faustian bargain made by Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets on the eve of training camp signaled the end. Since then the trajectory of this team has been steadily downward: horrifying play at QB, the season-ending injury to Eric Decker, the immolation of Darrelle Revis as "player who gives a damn" … it has been rough. Hell, even Muhammad Wilkerson's reputation looks to be streaking down the Alpine Slide at Action Park!

But since we're Jets fans, we are notorious gluttons for punishment. So rather than dwell on all the bad stuff … what causes for hope do you have from what you've seen this season, Bent?

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Gailey tries to evaluate Petty, Hackenberg despite lack of game time

Dec 2 | 8:06AM

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New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty throws the ball during warmups before a game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. (Scott Galvin/USA Today Sports Images)

New York Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said young quarterbacks Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg need to get all the reps they can get to continue to develop.

Though the Jets have decided to turn back to Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback for the foreseeable future, Gailey said Petty "needs all of the work he can get," according to NJ.com's Connor Hughes.

"It helps to play in games. ... The probability in games, you've got a lot better idea of what's going to happen," Gailey said. "In practice, you only have about a 75 percent probability of how they're going to be, how they're to play, and how they're going to progress."

Petty has started just one game -- a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10 -- this season before head coach Todd Bowles opted to make Fitzpatrick, who led New York to 10 wins last season, the starter again.

Revis weighs in on retirement, possible move to safety, and more

Ralph Vacchiano reports from the Jets facility on the Darrelle Revis rumors of him possibly retiring after the 2016 season.

Darrelle Revis, the embattled Jets cornerback, insists that he has given no thought to retirement despite his age and his struggles this season, and that his love for the game of football is as strong as ever. In fact, in an interview with SNY.tv on Thursday, he said any questions about how much he still wants to play are "really bizarre."

That was the 31-year-old Revis' response to the latest round of criticism in what has become a miserable season for the future Hall of Famer. He has struggled on the field in a season he admits is "definitely not" up to his personal standards, and the shots he's taken in the media have been relentless at times.

The latest came in a report in the New York Daily News on Wednesday that quoted a "confidant" of the cornerback saying "If he had his way he'd be done right now. He doesn't want to play anymore."